03/11/2011 Look North (North East and Cumbria)

Welcome to Look North. Tonight. The NHS Trust under fire for refusing

to re-employ this nurse, and spending hundreds of thousands of

pounds on legal fees. Is there hope for these homes? Residents say the

erosion that has claimed three houses appears to have stopped. A

cuckoo in the nest. The family of Bluebird racer Donald Campbell say

they are outraged by the appearance of this lookalike on the water

where he met his death and getting their land legs. The crew of HMS

Bulwark ship shape and on parade in their adopted city. A few games

into the season and it is make or break for the region's top Rugby

Union side and he south on the big stage at the weekend. Sunderland

star striker warms up for a trip to Manchester United, by strolling

They are there to spend money on healthcare but tonight the bosses

at one of our NHS Trusts are under fire for spending it on lawyers,

Northumberland Tyne and Wear NHS Trust has run up a bill into

hundreds of thousands of pounds. And why? Because they refused to

comply with an employment tribunal order to reinstate a nurse after

they had sacked him unfairly our chief reporter has the story. It

has gone on for five years now, first Yunus Backsh was suspended,

then sacked. He was accused of bullying colleagues but when the

matter came to an employment tribunal, it was ruled that the

real reason for his sacking was his activities as a trade unionist and

crucially, the tribunal ordered his reinstatement. That order though

was flouted. So now this tribunal is over, what has been the cost to

the taxpayer? Well �100,000 to pay for the trusts own lawyers.

�100,000 to pay for Yunus Backsh's lawyers and Yunus Backsh is

eligible to be paid now the maximum compensation package of �105,000,

more than �300,000 all together. That public servants were prepared

to spend public money in this way said the tribunal was utterly

reprehensible. Despite the ruling a mental health nurse with 23 years

service has to accept his career is effectively over. It is a sad day,

it is a very sad day indeed they should do what they did, and not be

prepared to put up a witness or any evidence in the hearing today. That

is a disgrace. An utter disgrace. His former employer is one of the

country's biggest mental Health Trusts looking after hospitals like

St Nicholas in Newcastle. In a statement tonight the trust said it

believed it has acted appropriately. And couldn't produce witnesses to

the tribunal, without harming its employees. Now they have been lived

on the edge, right on the edge for years but people living on a

crumbling cliff near Scarborough say they are hopeful the landslides

have stopped. Three homes have been demolished at Knipe Point because

of erosion but while the landslips have stopped for now, some

residents fear too much damage has already been done. They are looking

for somewhere else to live in case their homes don't survive. For four

years, the people living here have been watching their gardens slip

away. Uninsure how much longer they can stay. Already three homes have

been demolished, to stop them falling over the crumbling cliff

edge. This is bad. It has stopped. Some of the residents believe the

cliff may have stopped crumbling. They think water pouring down the

edge each morning could have been responsible for the erosion. They

told me the water has stopped running, ever since Yorkshire Water

carried out improvement work nearby. Whether their new pipes had

anything to do with it I don't think, it seems cones dental. We

hope things are slowing down and stopping now. But Yorkshire Water

denies any of the work they have done in the area is linked. The

company says it is replacing ageing man-hole, and adds that a pipe

taking treated water out to sea has no leak, but the company is taking

the opportunity to replace the pipe with a new one. So, some of the

residents believe the problem may have been solved. But even if that

is the case, they can't know for sure if this cliff will ever be

safe. The damage to these homes may already have been done. So the

residents are pushing ahead with Plan B, and this is it. One million

pounds of Government money is available if their homes still and

up being demolished. They want to build eco-lodges at this site four

miles down the road from Knipe Point. It is very similar to Knipe

Point. It is very secluded, and it is the nearest thing like for like

that we've seen, that has been on offer. But their dream is to stay

put. Last Christmas, huge chunks of land fell away here, as snow and

ice arrived. It is hoped this year the cliff may be better able to

face the test of winter. The jury in the inquest of a County Durham

man who was shot dead by police has been sent home for the night. Keith

Richards died in May 2009 at a stand off with police during which

he fired his crossbow out of the window of a house in Shildon. The

inquest in Newton Aycliffe heard his crossbow was hard to fire with

accuracy and unlikely to kill. But officers at the scene didn't know

that. They didn't know if their body armour would protect them if

they were hit by a bolt. The jury will return tomorrow. The new

Bishop of Durham, a former financier is backing calls for a

so-called Robin Hood tax. He says banking should return to serving

the common good. It follows the response of the Archbishop of

Canterbury to the protest outside St Paul's in London, calling for a

new tax on financial transactions. In areas like the North East get

side swiped when banks go wrong in far away places, of which we know

little. And so the need for capitalism to have a moral basis,

to have a value basis, a spiritual basis if you like, is rarely --

really essential. The family of speed boat racer Donald Campbell

say they are outraged by the appearance of a racing boat on

Coniston during annual records week, which looks just like the famous

Bluebird. They say the makers of the vessel should have consulted

the family first and have carried out a shameless publicity stunt.

Those behind the new boat known as K777 say no hurt or disrespect was

intended. Bluebird, which crashed in January 1967 killing Donald

Campbell is regarded as an icon. This vessel certainly bears a

resemblance but they say it is not intended as an insult to the family.

The boat is of a similar design. The first ones to say that. However,

when we started this project, what we set out to do was build a

British jet boat, when you start out with that there is no plan, you

go back to the most successful boat there has been this the past and

that was Bluebird. So that was our staurting point. The idea is to

build a boat, hopefully get it rung and this becomes a stepping stone,

we can go to sponsor, backers and say we are the real package, the

real deal, we can build a boat to bring the water speed record back

to Britain, back where it belongs. It is ten years since Bluebird was

raised from the bottom of the Coniston, for the last three she

has been under going restoration in north sheelsd. Family hope a trial

run of a restored Bluebird would be the boat's first appearance back on

the lake. They feel up staged by a boat nay say is just too similar to

dam's original.. Anything that takes the gloss off the hard work

and enthusiasm and the expense that been spent on K7, I think is

diabolical. It will upset me and the rest of my family. Not even

thinks it should be seen as a snub. A lot of people have said to me in

the village, that they think that the blue boat could well be a

tribute to the engineering excellence that Donald and his

family started. Work started on the multi-million pound redevelopment

of central Gateshead. A thousand jobs will be created by the 150

biggest of its type outside London. It will see a new town square, 45

shops, health centre, offices and a village for 1,000 students. Now it

has been reported that the runner accused of riding in a bus for part

of the Kielder marathon plans to sign up for Sunderland's Marathon

of the North next May. Rob Sloan denied cheating in the Kielder

marathon he was given a medal for finishing third which was later

awarded to another runner. He was disqualified and thrown out of his

running club. The royal Navy's flagship HMS Bulwark is docked in

the North East this week and the crew took a break from their duties

to parade through Durham. Bulwark is the city's adopted battleship

and the crew are honorary freemen. Richard Moss was there to see the

public pay tribute to some of Durham might not be near the sea

but city has a close relationship with these sailors. HMS Bulwark's

crew has the freedom of the city. That iv gives them the right to

parade through it complete with Royal Marine band. And for some,

the North East is more than just an adopted home. I looked over palace

green at my college rooms when I graduated many years ago. But it is

a real privilege to come back as a captain and graduate. We operate

all over the world. To know we come home and have that appreciation

from everyone that the work isn't in vain. It means a lot. The to

know we have our friend and family back in Durham makes a difference

to us. And the crew did get a gift of a local street sign as another

reminder of their relationship with Durham, and its people. It adds a

lot to the glamour of this city, and makes it feel special. The fact

that they take the time from their bidsy schedule, to spend a day with

us such as this. -- busy. Bulwark's crew head to sea again

tomorrow, but they will carry with them the memories of this day on

dry land. Very smart indeed. Coming up next we meet the artist behind

the spectacular Northumberlandia project, and the BBC's launching

another chance for comedy talent from this region to make the big

time. And we reveal the last few pictures for our brand-new weather

calendar. You can get your hands on it from tomorrow. Not long now. The

final touches are being put to the region's latest public artwork, a

huge figure of a woman cut into the earth at on a opencast mine in

Northumberland. In a year's time the sculpture will become the

centrepiece of a country park and the 2.5 million pounds cost has

been met by the land owners and the coal company. We have the second

This near Cramlington in Northumberland is the largest

opencast mine in the country. It is expected to yield some 5.5 million

tonnes of coal. And this is Northumberlandia. Crated from the

left overs of the mine and carved here by the men who mine the coal.

It is the largest replica of a human body ever seen on the planet.

A reclining female form, a quarter of a mile long. When the country

park opens a year from now, there will be four miles of paths all

over this figure, with a number of Laings round its base. Things

revealed about the project that we at the team didn't realise. In

particular the spectacular views you can enjoy from the high points

on it, and the joy of exploring Northumberlandia by walking on the

different paths and taking a different route, so we think it

will be a special place for people to come and enjoy. The land owners

are equally enthusiastic. believe it will draw people to

Northumberland, we also believe it will be a great facility for the

local people to enjoy, be it walking or just picnicking, for fr

the estate's point of view, to be able to leave a legacy like this is

a special occasion. From the curve of her hip to her nose and its tip,

Northumberlandia mimics the understood lating landscape round

her. -- undue lating. Her size has passed the ebgpition peck taition

of the man brought in to design her, celebrated artist Charles Jencks.

It is bigger than I thought. If you put anything in a big sky like this,

it disappear, you have to make a really bold gesture. And accentuate,

exaggerate the lips. We are attracted to the face. We had more

neurons to identify other people than any other parts of our brain,

and so it is the face which attracts you. So what do local

people think of their new neighbour? I like it, but I think

people who didn't know about it would wouldn't have any idea what

it was, unless they knew about it. Because it looks like a lump of

stones doesn't it I have heard you can see it from the air, that is a

lady lying down with no clothes on. I can't think of anything good to

say about it. It is like the angel of the north, something people will

talk about and have a look. didn't like the Angel when it first

went up and now it is part of the North East. The north's latest and

biggest work of public art has perhaps done something to improve

the image of opencast mining, and she'll will round for many

generations to come. Four miles of path. It is amazing. Vic reeves,

Bob Mortimer. Sarah Millican and Gavin Webster, we have stacks but

they have just a few of the performers established names on the

comedy circuit, but the search has started to find the next generation

of would be comedian, scriptwriters and film make ergs, the BBC talent

programme Jesting About 2 was launched last night. Last year Alex

kelier was looking for his big break as an animator, 12 months

later he has his first commission with BBC comedy thanks to getting a

place on the first Jesting About programme This scheme gave me my

first opportunity to make some animation professionally and wo

work with production companies and get a taste of what it is like and

get my work out there and seen on a platform such adds the BBC, which

is incredible. Bridget is from Gateshead, another discovered

writing talent who is now fingers cods on her way to the big time.

What this scheme has done for me, I've got a sitcom options which we

are looking to put to broadcasters and I have met a lot of comedy

producers who are interested, and I got an agent. This scheme is the

real deal for any would be comedian, film-maker or writer. The BBC is

determined to build on the success of last year's programme, and is

committed to finding more North East talent. They want to drill a

bit deeper, we want the find more funny people, after all, Vic and

Bob, Ross Noble. Sarah Millican, there are many more good and funny

North East talents emerging from these parts and we are determined

they should get on the BBC. Welcome to Jesting About 2. Anyone

interested in applying has until November 2th to enter. And you can

find out more information about how to enter at Jesting About. The

closing date is November 2th. I have a -- we have a stack of talent.

The first one was great. You enjoyed that. Now sport. Fashion in

a moment, but rugby to start with. We are only a handful of games into

the new season but this next match is a an important one for Newcastle

Falcons. Win and there is hope, lose and they will face a huge

battle from now until next May to keep top flight Rugby Union alive

in our region. There is nothing like a big game to focus the mind.

The Falcons against Worcester Warriors, bottom of the Premiership,

against second bottom. Tomorrow night Newcastle will be on

Worcester's heels or cast further adrift, facing a six month battle

to stay in there with the by big boys. We want to be in this group,

some of the big teams under strength have pulled away. We want

to stay with this group, because I do believe we will get better as

the season goes on, so it will be a nice bost to get the points and

kick on from there We know what is at stake. Even though it is early

in the season, we don't want it to get away on us, Friday night will

be huge. The captain James Hudson is back after sus suspension, that

and a cut price ticket deal has given the Falcons fresh hope for

Friday, but it's the boot of Jimmy Gopperth which is playing an

increasingly important role in the fight for survival. Much like Jonny

Wilkinson in his Newcastle days and Rob Andrew before him. I suppose,

in any team, a kicker has to do their job, and you know, it is part

of the game I love doing, and, you know, on Friday night I have to

make sure I do my skill right, and make sure we keep the score board

ticking over, because at the end of the day it is about winning. He has

the Golden Boot and he puts the points over. He wanted to develop

the team. We want to be an attacking taxpayer. We have scored

tries and played good rugby. We want to take that forward as well.

We wanted to score tries and play attractive rugby. Now from the

catwalk to the Theatre of Dreams, that is the unusual journey take

then week by members of Sunderland football club's first team squad.

They have been raidsing money for the community arm, the SAFC

foundation in the run-up to an away match at Old Trafford, home of the

Sporting celebrities teamed up with Sunderland footballers at the said

yum of light for Fashion Strikes, to raise money for the SAFC

Foundation. I might not be so easy to strut their stuff on Saturday.

It is strange, I am starting to get ewe used to it more, I haven't been

there for five year, but been there since a young boy and a fan, it is

great to go back. All my friends will be in the United end, giving

me stick, so I look forward to it. Hopefully we can get a decent

result. The club's loan striker will hope to ooze confidence on the

football pitch. We know they are going to create chances, so it is

difficult. We have to be strong, we have to work together as a team and

take our chances when we get them. It is difficult but thinking can

happen. A more critical audience awaits on Saturday but for now

fashion strike, not the Manchester United front line. And finally in

sport it is not cricket weather but it will be by the time Durham's

young star Ben Stokes plays again. The England one day international

has had a third operation on the finger he broke last May. The club

say he will be out for six months so he is unlikely to be fit for the

start of the twouant 12 season. Trai is going to start a new career

as a sales woman. Get your calendar. It is thanks to you. For the last

year you have been out and about round our region, and each month a

different judge or judges have chosen a winning picture to go into

the calendar, sold in aid of Children In Need. To choose our

final photos we thought we would visit a project which benefits from

the proceeds. Hannah and Pudsey went to a youth club in one of the

most remote spots in the region. Having a laugh with other children.

Young people at this drop in club live high on the moors of Tees dale.

Miles away from the nearest cinema, leisure centre or swimming pool.

Last year, your support of Pudsey's favourite charity helped keep the

centre going and provide transport to get here. It has meant that we

can actually cater for children between the age of eight and 13,

which is very important in a community like this. We take the

children sailing, once a year, fishing trips, take them to the

cinema, because the nearest one to here is about 15, 20 miles. I look

coming here because there is a lot of stuff to do. You can make stuff

and do different stuff every week. Because there's not much round here.

This is a place where like an option to come to and it is cool.

So, who better to choose some shots for next year's calendar? Do we

like this one or not? I don't like it. Josh and Claire's October

winner is Paul Dunstan, with this calming scene at Glenridding on

Ullswater. It was a bit of everything, a bit of countryside, a

bit of town, and a harbour and lake, so it is a bit of everything and it

was good detail. For November, Harry and Latisha chose this shot

of fireworks, exploding over Saltwell Park in Gateshead.

November there is Bonfire Night. is the most important. It is like,

I mean obviously fireworks on this one and that makes you think it is

Bonfire Night. I like the way... And for our December page, Debbie

and Holly go for Peter's snowy birds in Morpeth. We chose this

bird one because we thought it was really good, where it's got

movement, where they have took the photo of the bird. The BBC Look

North calendar 2012 goes on sale tomorrow P So congratulations to

all of the photographers who feature in that calendar, and here

it S all of the profits as we said will go to the Children In Need

appeal. Last year you raised �18,000, and to give you time to

get a pen in tomorrow's night programme we will tell you how you

can get your copy and a couple of extras for your family and friends.

extras for your family and friends. Here you are Geoff. Let us start

off with a picture autumnal one. Lovely this. Could be a candidate

for next year. Thank you to Tim Brook. The wind hasn't quite blown

off the leaves on the trees. I think we will look at rain. It will

push up from the south, through Friday. So it looks like it could

be wet for parts of the region. It has been wet this evening, we have

a fair few showers, hanging round until about midnight. But after

that it should be largely dry. We will see some dry spells and clear

spells overnight. It will be dawn by the time the next batch works

its way up into parts of North Yorkshire. With that cloud overhead

temperatures shouldn't dip too far. Ten to 12 will feel mind again

tonight. Into tomorrow and it is no surprise the see that rain getting

its act together through the morning time. Further north as you

get into Northumberland and Cumbria, you will be relatively dry. It will

be a case of a few spits and spot, the odd shower and break away rogue

element of rain, making its way further north and west. Top

temperatures tomorrow, not on a par with today but good for this time

of year. 13-14C and the wind starts to come round from the south-west.

Just in time for the weekend. It looks like Saturday could be

another wet one, especially for the south-east of our region, it will

take its time to spread into the north and west on Saturday, by

Sunday we have chased that rain away and it looks like a fine day,

a bit of high pressure, a ridge coming in, settling things down

nicely and in a good reversal of fortune we have most of the cloud

in the south and the further north you go on Sunday, the drier,

brighter and sunnier it will be. So here is a quick res may, tomorrow

we will have rain in the North East to contend with but it looks

largely dry for many parts of the yeecked. If there there is rain it

will be up the coast. For Cumbria wet at times tomorrow but Saturday

and Sunday both look good. Raise thank you very much. Just to remind